Chelsea to recall Guiu amid Jackson uncertainty

Due to uncertainty surrounding Nicolas Jackson’s future and Liam Delap’s injury, Chelsea are in talks to bring Marc Guiu back from his loan at Sunderland.

After Delap suffered a hamstring injury in the 2-0 win over Fulham on Saturday, the Blues made the decision to withdraw from the agreement, which also included a £56.2 million option to buy, after agreeing to have Jackson, 24, undergo a medical at Bayern Munich for an initial £13 million loan move.

Jackson was requested to travel back to London, but Bayern had the option to make a permanent deal change that way.

Conrad Harder, who had been identified as the main target by Sporting strikers, had already been in advanced discussions with German club RB Leipzig, and is still expected to step up as the replacement for the now-Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesko.

Harder, age 20, was given a less prominent role in the Chelsea squad than Leipzig.

Guiu, 19, is currently undergoing investigation and is expected to be reinstated from his Sunderland loan spell.

Guiu made two substitute starts for the Black Cats after moving to Chelsea from Barcelona for £5 million in 2024, scoring one goal in his first start.

Manager Enzo Maresca expressed concern that Delap would miss “six to eight weeks” in three different scenarios.

The first option was to recall Guiu, the second was to bring back Jackson, and the third was to sign Harder and sell Jackson at the same time.

Diomansy Kamara, Jackson’s long-term agent, has since said: “We are not going back. The plane doesn’t “go backwards.”

With transfer plans made more complicated by Delap’s injury and an already busy 24 hours planned, Jackson recall seems to be the most difficult of the three options.

On Monday, the transfer window closes at 19:00 BST, with Facundo Buonanotte expected to join on a season-long loan.

Prior to Delap’s injury, Chelsea made an offer on Saturday for Barcelona forward Fermin Lopez, but he appears unfit now that he has already played La Liga games away at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday evening.